Sebastián Espinel Ríos

Assistant Professor of Bioproduction

School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering

University College Dublin

Sebastián is an Assistant Professor (Ad Astra Fellow) at UCD's School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering. His research develops tailored computational methods for advanced modeling, optimization, and intelligent control to support the digitalization of the biotechnology industry, combining mechanistic, AI-driven, and hybrid approaches across in-cell, external, and multiscale levels. He holds a PhD in Engineering from the International Max Planck Research School at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems and the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany). He also holds an MSc in Biotechnology (Process Technology specialization) from Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands) and a BSc in Biotechnology Engineering from the Autonomous University of Yucatán (Mexico). His postdoctoral experience includes positions at Princeton University's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (USA) and CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Australia's national science agency.

PhD students

Yufan Liu

Research project: robust and transferable reinforcement learning for bioprocess control under partial observability and uncertainty.

Yufan Liu is from China and previously completed a Master’s degree in Data and Computational Science at University College Dublin. Before starting the PhD, she worked as a Cloud Support Engineer at Amazon Web Services, focusing on data analytics and machine learning systems. She has experience working across multiple countries and industries, and is interested in applying reinforcement learning to complex real-world problems. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, hiking, and exploring different cultures around the world.

Ning Song [Incoming PhD student; Autumn 2026]

Research project: AI-enabled, physics-informed digital twin frameworks for downstream processing in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Ning Song holds an MSc in Industrial Biotechnology from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Her previous research combined experimental bioprocess development with machine learning and mechanistic modeling, including Bayesian optimization, kinetic modeling, and ODE-based process simulation across upstream and downstream bioprocessing. Her PhD research focuses on developing AI-enabled, physics-informed digital twin methodologies to better capture and predict the dynamics of biopharmaceutical processes, particularly in downstream processing.

Visiting students

Sam Ferrer

Research project: uncertainty-aware modelling of optogenetic protein production in yeast.

Sam is an undergraduate summer intern majoring in Process Engineering (ENSIACET, France).

External members

Keivan Ahmadi

Co-supervised research project: reinforcement learning for non-invasive brain stimulation.

Keivan is a PhD student at the Control and Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory (TU Darmstadt, Germany) in the group of Prof. Rolf Findeisen.

Alan Antonio Herrera Pineda

Co-supervised thesis project: development of a multiscale mathematical model for astaxanthin production in Phaffia rhodozyma.

Alan is an MSc student in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Cinvestav Zacatenco, Mexico) in the group of Dr. Luis Bernardo Flores Cotera.

Past members

Krrish Kumar Verma

Co-supervised research project: reduced modelling pipelines of optogenetic systems toward hybrid machine-learning/mechanistic approaches.

BTech student in Chemical Engineering (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi) jointly co-supervised by Dr. Emmanouil Alexis from Princeton University (ODBI & CBE, USA).